After the Coronation
by empressdreamer
Summary: The coronation is over, and Narnia has its four Kings and Queens, but Susan can't help but question about their absence in the other world. Of course, she doesn't know about the different dimension of the two worlds yet..


"Thank you, and good night."

Peter the Magnificent smiled and nodded at the two centaurs, Oreius and Rynelf, just as they bowed at him and left the Great Hall. The moment they disappeared from behind the door, he blew a huge breath of relief. It has finally finished. The day had been almost too long for him, and now he was glad he can rest.

He glanced briefly at the four thrones sitting proudly before him, complete with comfortable little cushions made of velvet of various colours. Just hours before, he had sat on one of them and was crowned High King of Narnia. It was so hard to believe, and yet when he raised his left hand to feel upon his head, there it was, the golden crown which authorized the title on him. He was now, along with his brother Edmund and their sisters Susan and Lucy, the rulers of Narnia, governing on behalf of Aslan the Great Lion.

Casting a brief look across the Great Hall, in which some of the nymph-servants were still cleaning after the previous feast, Peter decided to retire into his chambers. He knew that if it had been in a certain other place, it was already way past his curfew. He was fighting not to yawn all the time he was talking to Oreius, Rynelf and half a dozen other of his subjects who came to speak to him during the feast. Edmund, Lucy and Susan had already retreated earlier, when they could hardly lift their eyelids and Lucy kept missing the goblet with her mouth. But Peter knew it was the duty of the High King to stay until everyone had left. He was determined to do the job right from the beginning.

Cair Paravel was a serene place that night, with hardly any sound except Peter's footsteps. The torch was still burning brightly on the walls, and it was by one of its light did Peter saw a figure dressed in long white nightgown standing at one of the castle's many balconies overlooking the glistening Eastern Sea. He though he knew the long raven-coloured hair anywhere.

"Susan?"

Susan turned when she heard her name, and smiled when she saw her older brother. But it was not quite a happy smile he was seeing. "Why aren't you asleep yet?" Peter asked, as he moved to join her at the balcony. It was a very beautiful night, with the stars scattered like diamonds against the velvety black sky. The soft sound of the waves beating the sandy beach was contenting. It was a sight anyone would definitely smile about, but Peter saw that Susan was not doing that.

"Is something wrong?" he asked her.

"No", Susan shook her head. "No, there isn't anything wrong."

"Seems to me that there's something _very_ wrong is someone's not smiling", Peter said. "Especially when she had just been crowned Queen of Narnia."

Susan did not answer immediately. Instead she looked up towards the sky, as though trying to find strength in the stars. "Peter, those stars…"

"What about them?"

"Do you suppose Mum and Dad could see them too?"

The words went through Peter like shock. His head whipped around to look at his sister. Suddenly he realized what she must be thinking of.

"You want to go home", said Peter.

Susan bowed her head. "No, that's not really it", she answered softly. "I mean, I know everyone needs us here. We are their Kings and Queens now, and they're our responsibilities. And I can tell you honestly that I'm really starting to love everything in Narnia. But-" at this she turned to face her brother. "-but I've been thinking about Mum, and I wonder what she would feel if she finds out we're gone from the Professor's house."

Peter bowed his head. "I know, Su", he replied gently. "I know you're right about Mum, but you know we can't leave Narnia now. Not when things are just starting to heal. They need us here. It's not just about winning a war and defeating a witch anymore. It's now about restoring peace into the land. And we have to do that."

"I know, Peter, I know", said Susan. There was a hint of a sob in her voice. "But for how long, Peter? How long must we leave what we had left behind? What happens when the war in England is over, and Dad has come home, and Mum wants us to come home too? We were so miserable when they sent us away from home, and now we're the ones so happy to be so far away from it. Have you thought of that? And Narnia's got Aslan, but Mum's only got us."

Peter ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He felt so torn between two worlds: their country so far back with a mother they had left behind, and this responsibility he had taken oath to. He knew Susan is right, but to speak those words to Aslan and just about everybody in Narnia is another story. How can he bear that to them, after he had willed himself to be their leader? Not to mention the look of despair if Edmund and Lucy found out they had to leave. As his thoughts landed on his youngest brother and sister, Peter decided to speak of them to Susan.

"Lucy and Edmund would not want to leave Narnia, you know that."

"Neither do I, Peter. And nor you as well", said Susan knowingly. "I'm just telling you the facts here. It's not because I don't like Narnia, but you must realize the price we are paying for being here. And I'm not saying we should leave Narnia at this very moment. I'm just asking how long we must stay, because someday Mum and Dad will come for us, only to find we're not there."

Peter gazed at the soft foamy water beneath them. His brains working hard all that time. There is a way for it, he knew. He just must find it. "We'll stay for a while", he decided. "Just to make sure there won't be anymore trouble in this land. At the moment my concern is all those leftovers of the Witch's army. Aslan mentioned to me that there might still be some scattered and hiding somewhere in Narnia, and as long as they're not stamped out for good there will never be peace in the land. After that is over, I think it would be quite all right. We can turn things to someone- Oreius, maybe- and go back. I know it won't be for another year, or five", Peter added quickly when Susan opened her skeptical mouth. "But that would have to be it. We made a promise, Susan", he said in a stern voice. "And before we do anything else, we must fulfill our promises."

Susan looked at Peter, and realized he had spoken every word of truth. She decided she could not argue any longer. "But will we find our way back after five years?" she asked.

"Let's go find it tomorrow."

The next morning, right after dawn, Peter left some instructions to a bleary-eyed Edmund (he's not quite awake yet at the time) to oversee things in the castle for a few hours. Then he mounted a horse, with Susan behind him, and they set off all across Narnia towards the place they called Lantern Waste. On and on they rode on the chestnut horse until they spotted the lamp-post, still glowing beautifully. The effects seems different, as they had only seen it on snow-covered surroundings before, which was totally different from the bright green-and-brown forest they are seeing presently. From there they hopped of the horse, and tried to track the road towards the wardrobe. It didn't take quite as long as they had expected, for the forest was still quite fresh and young with leaves and bushes after a hundred years of ice.

"Here!"

Peter saw the coats, which protruded slightly behind an oak tree. He and Susan ran to feel it, which almost like feeling home again. And then Peter saw the wardrobe door, which was fully concealed behind the coats and trees. He reached to feel it, but did not open the door.

"Now we know where to find the door", he told Susan with a small smile. "After all is done for Narnia, we shall tell Edmund and Lucy what we need to do, find someone good enough to be the new King, and return here. We might be a few years older by then, but that will have to do."

Susan smiled flatly. "Yes, I hope so."

Peter placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. "Don't your worry Su", he said. "We'll be home soon."

But soon did not come. The moment they returned to Cair Paravel that morning it was the beginning of their duties as Kings and Queens of Narnia. Peter learned that it was a hard job trying to drive away the Witch's army, and even then peace cannot be fully established as there are still troublemakers and mischief about. There is so much to his responsibility as the High King that in less than two years he had forgotten all about going home to England. Although sometimes at night he did have a vision of a man and a woman whose face he never could see clearly, and an odd wardrobe. He placed them away in his mind and thought of them as funny dreams.

Susan took even less time to forget about her old life. Although during the first few weeks she did mourned silently in her room, pretty soon she became increasing attracted towards all things beautiful in Narnia. Gradually she was more interested in trying to restore the goodwill ties with the neighbouring countries, and her mourns of unhappiness were no longer for England or anything in it.

The two younger ones were never told of their brother and sister's secret trip, and they did not think about England at all. Edmund took to educating and improving the lifestyle of their people, and more often than not he was sent to the other places under Narnian governing, such the Lone Islands, to view how things are going. Lucy was more into the wood-folk, and although she made frequent trips to visit her dearest friend Mr. Tumnus at his place, she did not see the lamp post, for now that she is living in Cair Paravel, the route to Tumnus's house is different.

And so the Golden Age went on for years, and perhaps would have continued for a few decades had not, one faithful day, Tumnus the Faun went into Cair Paravel to inform his Kings and Queens about a White Stag in Narnia.


End file.
